Athletic Club is more than Bilbao's football team: it is one of the few things the whole city agrees on. Founded in 1898, it plays only footballers from the Basque Country or trained in Basque clubs, and it has never been relegated from Spain's top division — a record it shares only with Real Madrid and Barcelona. If you are in Bilbao on a match day, go.
Why only Basque players
Athletic's squad is made of players born in the Basque Country or formed in its clubs and its own academy, Lezama. No other top European club works like this, and it is why the crowd treats every player as one of its own. Fans call the team los leones, the lions, after the stadium's name: San Mamés, the early Christian martyr thrown to the lions.
San Mamés, "the cathedral"
The current San Mamés opened in 2013 next to the old ground and holds about 53,000 people. It sits at the western end of the city centre, by the river. Inside are the club museum and a stadium tour that takes you to the stands, the changing rooms and the tunnel; book times and tickets on the official Athletic Club website.
In April 2024 Athletic won the Spanish Cup after forty years, and the team sailed down the Nervión river on the gabarra, a barge kept for exactly that: a million people lined the banks. Ask anyone in Bilbao where they watched it.
Seeing a match
- Tickets: sold on the club's website and app; big matches sell out, so buy as soon as the date is fixed. Your ticket is on your phone, so you need mobile data at the gate.
- Before the match: fans meet in the bars of the streets around the stadium, especially Licenciado Poza ("Pozas"), for pintxos and a drink. Arrive an hour early.
- The atmosphere: the stadium sings the club anthem before kick-off; join in with the chorus, nobody minds.
Getting there
- Metro: San Mamés station (lines 1 and 2) is next to the stadium.
- Tram: the Bilbao tram stops at San Mamés too.
- Bus from other cities and the airport: Bilbao's main bus station, Termibus, is beside the stadium.
- On foot: about 20 minutes along the river from the old town (Casco Viejo).
Staying connected
Tickets, the club app, the metro timetable and the map back to your hotel all live on your phone, and the stadium area is busy, so do not count on public Wi-Fi. A data eSIM for Spain gives you local data from the airport without removing your own SIM.